Concrete slab mold

ABSTRACT

A mould suitable for use in concrete moulding apparatus in which concrete held in the mould is subjected to a pressing action, the mould consists of a base on which a plurality of edge members are mounted to define an enclosure for the concrete. At least one of the members which constitutes one side of the enclosure is held in position on the base by at least two struts in the form of screw jacks. The struts are connected to the member and releasably anchored to the base outside of the enclosure. It is preferred for all the struts associated with each edge member to be so arranged that the struts can be simultaneously released from the mould base without adjusting the length of the struts.

United States Patent Vaughan et al.

[ 1 Aug. 29, 1972 [54] CONCRETE SLAB MOLD [72] Inventors: George AlfredVaughan; William Lawrence Dunn, both of Sheffield, England [73]Assignee: Davy and United Engineering Company Limited, Yorkshire,England 22 Filed: May 15,1970

21 Appl.No.: 37,778

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 16, 1969 Great Britain..25,083/69 [52] US. Cl ..249/158, 25/45 [51] Int. Cl. ..B28b 7/02 [58]Field of Search ..249/158, 162, 164, 168, 155, 249/163, 167, 82,161,120,131,128, 124,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,590,478 3/1952 Weinberg..25/119 x 3,340,926 9/1967 Sylvester ..249/158 x Frerichs ..25/101Stieler ..25/128 K 890,466 6/1908 7 3,373,460 3/1968 Ladney ..25/128 K3,286,973 1 1/1966 Sylvester ..249/82 955,282 4/1910 Pocock ..249/1583,292,216 12/1966 Colombo ...249/l 58 X Primary Examiner-J. SpencerOverholser Assistant Examiner-John S. Brown Att0rneyHolcombe, Wetherill& Brisebois [57] ABSTRACT the base outside of the enclosure. It ispreferred for all the struts associated with each edge member to be soarranged that the struts can be simultaneously released from the mouldbase without adjusting the length of the struts.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures I PATENTEDnusze I972 sun-:12 or 3PATENTEnAum 1912 SHEEI a or 3 -w Y J Q E Q CONCRETE SLAB MOLD Thisinvention relates to concrete moulding apparatus and in particular tothe construction of suitable moulds for such apparatus. The invention isapplicable to concrete presses in which a slab or other body of concretemixture is held in a mould and is subjected to a pressing action.

An object of the present invention is to provide a design of mould whichis readily adjustable in size.

In accordance with the present invention a mould for concrete mouldingapparatus comprises a mould base, a plurality of elongate edge membersarranged on the base to define an enclosure for receiving the materialto be moulded, and wherein at least the member constituting one side ofthe enclosure is held in position on the base by at least two extensiblestruts connected to the member and releasably anchored to the baseoutside of the enclosure.

Although all of the edge members may be held in position on the base bymeans of extensible struts, where the edge members define a generallyrectangular enclosure, the members constituting a pair of adjacent sidesof the enclosure may be held in position on the base by means of theextensible struts.

If an edge member which has struts associated therewith is in two ormore parts arranged in end-toend relation, then each part has at leasttwo struts associated therewith.

The struts are conveniently releasably anchored to an upstanding memberrigidly secured to the mould base.

It is preferred that each strut is releasably anchored to its upstandingmember by means which include cooperating tapered wedge surfaces on thestrut and the upstanding member which permit the strut to be releasedfrom or anchored to the upstanding member without adjusting the lengthof the strut. All the struts associated with an edge member areconveniently connected together so that the struts can be released fromor anchored to the upstanding member substantially simultaneously.

The struts may be adjustable incrementally as by adding or taking awayunits which together constitute the strut. However, it is preferable forthe struts to be adjustable steplessly and the struts may comprisehydraulic rams or screw jacks.

In one embodiment of the invention each strut comprises a tubular memberpivotally connected at one end to a mould edge member, a nut operativelycoupled to the other end of the tubular member so as to be rotatablerelative thereto and about the same axis as the tubular member, and ascrew which is engageable with the nut and which in use is anchored tothe mould base. By rotating the nut, the mould edge member is adjustablerelative to the mould base. If it is desired to adjust the mould edgemember by a distance which is greater than that possible by the screwand nut adjustment then additional tubular members may be insertedbetween the nut and the tubular member which is connected to the mouldedge member.

Means for anchoring the screw to the mould base comprises an upstandingmember fixed to the mould base, the member having a recess for receivingthe screw and the member and the screw having co-operating tapered wedgesurfaces provided thereon. The angle of the taper is such that thepressure acting outwards against the mould edge during moulding can bewithstood without the screw being forced out of the recess in theupstanding member. Also the wedge surfaces permit the strut to beanchored to or released from the upstanding member without adjusting thelength of the strut.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention each strut comprises atubular member secured at one end to a mould edge and having aninternally threaded portion at its opposite end which serves as a nut. Ascrew is associated with the nut and the end of the screw away from themould edge is rotatably and releasably anchored to a member upstandingfrom the mould base. By rotating the screw the tubular member isdisplaced along the screw thereby adjusting the position of the mouldedge on the mould base. Similarly by providing wedge surfaces on thescrew and the upstanding member, the screw can be anchored to orreleased from the member without adjusting the length of the strut.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood it will nowbe described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings numbered consecutively in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mould, in the upper half of FIG. 1 the mouldis positioned at its maximum size and in the lower half of FIG. 1 themould is of reduced size,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation on the line IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation illustrating an alternative means to thatshown in FIG. 2 for anchoring the struts to the mould base,

FIG. 4 illustrates in cross-section a third means of coupling tubularmembers together,

FIG. 5 is a sectional side elevation of an alternative form of strut,

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation on the line VIVI of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 7 is a plan of the strut shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Referring to FIG. 1, an adjustable mould for moulding panels in concretecomprises a mould base 13 to which a grating 14 of known construction issecured. Two pairs of mould edge members 15, 16 are arranged on thegrating to define an enclosure for receiving the mouldable material. Thespaced-apart pair of mould edges 15 are arranged at right-angles to thepair of mould edges 16 and each mould member is held in' position bymeans of a plurality of extensible struts 17 each connected at one endto the edge member and anchored at the other end to the mould base bymeans to be described in greater detail hereinafter.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the extensible strut 17 is in the form of ascrew jack comprising a tubular member 18 pivotally connected at one endto a pivot 19 carried by brackets 20 secured to the edge member. Theaxis of the pivot pin 19 is horizontal and the strut can pivot about thepin in a vertical plane. Alternately the axis of the pin could bevertical. A nut 21 is secured to the free end of the tubular member 18so as to be rotatable relative to and coaxial with the tubular member.The nut is coupled to the tubular member with an end portion of the nutprojecting into a cut-away portion at the end of the tubular member. Thenut is permitted to rotate within the tubular member and three setscrews 22 extend through openings in the tubular member positioned 120apart around the periphery thereof and project into a groove 23 providedin the nut. The inner periphery of the nut 21 is threaded and a threadedportion 25 at one end of a screw 26 engages with the nut and the lengthof the threaded portion of the screw is substantially equal to theoverall length of the tubular member 18.

The non-threaded portion of the screw 26 is non rotatably carried in anupstanding U-shaped recess 27 formed in an anchor member 28 which issecured, by welding, to the mould base 13. A pair of wedge members 30and 31 have co-operating tapered surfaces and form part of the member 28and the screw 26 respectively. The wedge member 30 is in two parts oneon each side of the recess 27 and the wedge member 31 is of generallyinverted U-shape with the limbs thereof positioned on opposite sides ofthe screw 26. The angle of the taper is so arranged that pressure actingoutwards against the mould edge during moulding is transmitted to themember 28 through the strut without the screw 26 being forced upwardlyout of the recess 27. The mould edge member 15 can however be strippedfrom the mould part simply by pivoting the strut 17 upwards about thepin 19 until the wedges 30 and 31 are released and then withdrawing theedge member away from the moulded part. In order to simplify the removalof each mould edge member 15 or 16 from the moulded part, the ends ofall the screws 26 which are associated with a particular mould edgemember are connected together by means of a draw bar 35. The struts canbe pivoted about the mould edge member to anchor or release the strutssimply by raising or lowering the draw bar 35.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the upstanding members 28 to which the mould edgemembers 15 are connected have a series of spaced-apart recesses 27formed therein. The struts 17 of the mould edge members 15 are anchoredin use and it is convenient for the edge members 15 to extend forsubstantially the entire length of the mould irrespective of the lengthof the panel to be moulded. In order to vary the width of a part to bemoulded the mould edge members 15 are moved towards and away from eachother and to vary the length of the part to be moulded the mould edgemembers 16 are displaced relative to the adjacent edge of the mould base13. The mould edge members 16 are interchanged for another pair ofmembers when it is necessary to alter the width of the mould.

For convenience the anchor posts 28 for the struts 17 may be movablysecured to the mould base. To this end, (see FIG. 3), the anchor member28 is secured to an anchor plate 38 which is provided on its undersidewith a key 39 which is located in a key-way 40 in the mould base 13. Inaddition set screws 41 project through the anchor plate and engagetapped holes in the mould base so as to secure the anchor plate to themould base.

To adjust each mould edge member 15, 16 relative to its adjacent edge ofthe mould base 13, the nut 21 of each strut associated with the memberis rotated causing it to travel along the screw 25 thereby displacingthe tubular member 18 and the associated mould edge member. The nut 21is rotated by means of a tommy bar inserted in one of three holes 44provided at 120 apart around the periphery of the nut.

If the displacement permitted by the screw and nut adjustment of eachstrut 17 is insufficient then additional tubular members 46 are insertedas required between the nut 21 and the tubular member 18. FIG. 4 showsthe preferred means of coupling an additional member 46 to the member18. In the figure, a connecting piece 47 is inserted between theadjacent ends of the tubular members 18 and 46. The connecting piece 47has a continuous groove 48 in which the reduced ends of three set screws49 are located so that the connecting piece can rotate relative to themember 18. The member 46 can be coupled to the connecting piece eitherby set screws engaging tapped holes in the piece 47 or the set screwsbeing located in grooves; it is immaterial whether there is relativerotation between the member 46 and the piece 47.

To speed up the insertion of the additional tubular members 46, themembers 46 are inserted in pairs, the members of each pair being spacedfixedly apart by means of diagonal braces 50 as shown in FIG. 1.

In an alternative form of strut shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 a tubular member60 is secured to an edge member 15 and the opposite end of the tubularmember is threaded at its inner periphery and a threaded part 62 of ascrew 64 engages with the threads. The screw is rotatable in a bush 66secured in one end of a tubular member 68 which surrounds part of thetubular member 60. A set screw in the member 68 projects into an axialgroove 69 in the member 60 to prevent rotation of the member 68.

The strut is anchored at its end away from the edge member by means of ahousing 70 which entends along one edge of the mould base and is keyedthereto to prevent movement between the housing and the mould base. Thehousing is of generally box-like construction having a front wall 72with apertures 74 therein through at least some of which the tubularstruts project. The upper portion of the housing has an opening 76extending along the length thereof and an elongate member in the form ofa bar 78 is positioned in the opening. The underside of the bar isprovided at intervals, which correspond with the separation of thestruts, with downwardly depending portions 80 which can be brought intoengagement with a lug 82 on the tubular members 68 of each strut.Co-operating wedge surfaces are provided on the lug 82 and portions 80.

To operate the strut the screw 64 is rotated driving the inner tubularmember 60 axially to adjust the length of the struts and when the mouldis in use the thrust on the side walls is taken by the lug 82 actingagainst the wedge on the bar 78. To release the struts the bar isdisplaced axially to a position where the wedge surface on the portion80 is out of engagement with the wedge surface on the lug 82. As thewedges surfaces on the portions 80 associated with the struts secured toone edge member are all provided on one bar 78, the struts can all bereleased simultaneously by one axial movement of the bar.

In all the embodiments of the invention, the mould edge members 15, 16are provided with upstanding extensions (not shown). When the mould isintroduced into the moulding press, the mould is filled with concretealmost to the top of the entensions and during moulding the extensionsare pressed by a press platen to reduce the height of the mould edgemembers as the concrete is pressed in the mould.

' We claim:

l. A mould for concrete moulding apparatus comprising a flat basemember, a plurality of elongate mould edge members securely positionedon the base member to define therewith an open-topped enclosure forreceiving the material to be moulded, at least the edge memberconstituting one side of the enclosure being securely positioned on thebase member by at least two struts each extending substantially normalto the edge member and to an upstanding member rigidly secured to themould base member at a position outside of the enclosure, each strutbeing of adjustable length and pivotally connected at one end to theedge member and anchored at its other end to the upstanding member bymeans including cooperating tapered wedge surfaces on the strut and theupstanding member which permit the strut to be released from or anchoredto the upstanding member without adjusting the length of the strut.

2. A mould for concrete moulding apparatus comprising a flat basemember, a plurality of elongate mould edge members securely positionedon the base member to define therewith an open-topped enclosure forreceiving the material to be moulded, at least the edge memberconstituting one side of the enclosure being securely positioned on thebase member by at least two extensible struts each extendingsubstantially normal to the edge member and to an upstanding memberrigidly secured to the mould base member at a position outside of theenclosure, each strut being in the form of a screw jack having a partincluding a nut and a part comprising a screw which is associated withthe nut, one of said parts being pivotally secured to the edge memberand the other part releasably anchored to the upstanding member, saidother part and said upstanding member having co-operating tapered wedgesurfaces which by causing relative movement therebetween permit thestrut to be released from or anchored to the upstanding member withoutadjusting the length of the strut.

3. A mould as claimed in claim 1 in which the edge the edge membersconstituting one pair of adjacent sides are each held in position on thebase by means of said extensible struts.

4. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the edgemembers having struts associated therewith is in at least two partsarranged in end-to-end relation and each part has at least two strutsassociated therewith.

5. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein all the struts associated withan edge member are connected together so that the struts can be releasedfrom or anchored to the upstanding member substantially simultaneously.

6. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein the tapered wedge surfaces onthe upstanding member to which the struts are anchored are provided on amember displaceable with respect to the upstanding member so that thestruts can be released from or anchored to the upstanding membersubstantially simultaneously.

7. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein each extensible strut comprisesa hydraulic ram.

8. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein each strut comprises a ,tubularmember having a nut rotatably coupled to one end and a screw coaxialwith the tubular member and in en a 'ement with the n t.

9. A mould as cqal med in claim 2w erein each strut comprises a tubularmember internally threaded at one end, a screw in engagement with thethreads on the tubular member and rotatably mounted in a further tubularmember surrounding said first-mentioned tubular member. A

10. A mould as claimed in claim 8 wherein the end of the tubular memberaway from the nut is pivotally secured to an edge member and the end ofthe screw away from the edge member is anchored to the base.

11. A mould as claimed in claim 8 in which the tubular member ispivotable with respect to the edge member about a horizontal axis.

1. A mould for concrete moulding apparatus comprising a flat basemember, a plurality of elongate mould edge members securely positionedon the base member to define therewith an open-topped enclosure forreceiving the material to be moulded, at least the edge memberconstituting one side of the enclosure being securely positioned on thebase member by at least two struts each extending substantially normalto the edge member and to an upstanding member rigidly secured to themould base member at a position outside of the enclosure, each strutbeing of adjustable length and pivotally connected at one end to theedge member and anchored at its other end to the upstanding member bymeans including cooperating tapered wedge surfaces on the strut and theupstanding member which permit the strut to be released from or anchoredto the upstanding member without adjusting the length of the strut.
 2. Amould for concrete moulding apparatus comprising a flat base member, aplurality of elongate mould edge members securely positioned on the basemember to define therewith an open-topped enclosure for receiving thematerial to be moulded, at least the edge member constituting one sideof the enclosure being securely positioned on the base member by atleast two extensibLe struts each extending substantially normal to theedge member and to an upstanding member rigidly secured to the mouldbase member at a position outside of the enclosure, each strut being inthe form of a screw jack having a part including a nut and a partcomprising a screw which is associated with the nut, one of said partsbeing pivotally secured to the edge member and the other part releasablyanchored to the upstanding member, said other part and said upstandingmember having co-operating tapered wedge surfaces which by causingrelative movement therebetween permit the strut to be released from oranchored to the upstanding member without adjusting the length of thestrut.
 3. A mould as claimed in claim 1 in which the edge members definea generally rectangular enclosure and the edge members constituting onepair of adjacent sides are each held in position on the base by means ofsaid extensible struts.
 4. A mould as claimed in claim 1 wherein atleast one of the edge members having struts associated therewith is inat least two parts arranged in end-to-end relation and each part has atleast two struts associated therewith.
 5. A mould as claimed in claim 1wherein all the struts associated with an edge member are connectedtogether so that the struts can be released from or anchored to theupstanding member substantially simultaneously.
 6. A mould as claimed inclaim 2 wherein the tapered wedge surfaces on the upstanding member towhich the struts are anchored are provided on a member displaceable withrespect to the upstanding member so that the struts can be released fromor anchored to the upstanding member substantially simultaneously.
 7. Amould as claimed in claim 1 wherein each extensible strut comprises ahydraulic ram.
 8. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein each strutcomprises a tubular member having a nut rotatably coupled to one end anda screw coaxial with the tubular member and in engagement with the nut.9. A mould as claimed in claim 2 wherein each strut comprises a tubularmember internally threaded at one end, a screw in engagement with thethreads on the tubular member and rotatably mounted in a further tubularmember surrounding said first-mentioned tubular member.
 10. A mould asclaimed in claim 8 wherein the end of the tubular member away from thenut is pivotally secured to an edge member and the end of the screw awayfrom the edge member is anchored to the base.
 11. A mould as claimed inclaim 8 in which the tubular member is pivotable with respect to theedge member about a horizontal axis.